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Written by
Deborah Freudenmann BHSc
“Hi, I’d love to hear your views on chemotherapy. Are you pro or anti-chemotherapy?”
My answer? I’m neither.
Confused with that answer? That’s exactly what this article is all about!
Chemotherapy is one of the conventional treatments recommended for patients with cancer. However, it is important to weigh the benefits of Chemotherapy against the risks it poses to be able to make the right decision.
If you are advised Chemotherapy, read on to know more about this treatment so that you can decide whether it would be safe and effective for you and how to best prepare to optimise your results.
Cancer is a multifactorial disorder that is characterized by uncontrolled cell growth. It occurs due to the uncontrolled division of abnormal cells that have lost their self-destruction functions due to the mutations they undergo.
These are malignant cells that tend to grow forming an abnormal mass of cells. This later becomes a tumour that interferes with the normal functions of the affected organ or tissue of the body. Cancer cells can grow and divide more quickly than the normal cells without any control or order.
Once an immature or abnormal cancerous cell has lost the ability to die on its own, it is important to eliminate this cancerous cell or mass of cells with a therapy.
Chemotherapy is the conventional answer to this problem.
The systemic administration of chemotherapeutic drugs causes these cancer cells to weaken both at the site of cancer development and also, floating cancer cells throughout the body.
Chemotherapy targets fast dividing cells. The drug initiates cell death and cell injury in the cancerous tissues through a free radical scavenging mechanism.
The advantage is that the cancer cells die (apoptosis) if the process is done properly and carefully.
If, however, chemotherapy is administered too intensely and the oxidation is severe cancer cells leak their toxic cellular contents into the plasma (tumour lysis) resulting in inflammation and imbalances in the body.
This is why intense oxidation and the subsequent tumour lysis syndrome is sometimes a greater risk than the tumour itself. Many patients pass away based on the side effects of the therapy as opposed to the cancer itself.
The second disadvantage is that not only fast dividing tumour cells die, but also other fast dividing cells. Some healthy cells tend to divide quickly such as the cells in the oral cavity, digestive system, neutrophils, macrophages, monocytes, and platelets.
These “healthy” fast dividing cells are what your body needs to fight disease. This is the unfortunate paradox, as chemotherapy destroys exactly that which you need to recover.
This may also lead to an increased susceptibility to infections and bleeding by creating an immunosuppressive effect. These concerns need to be addressed while undergoing chemotherapy.
The initial effects of chemotherapy depend on the adequate delivery of the agent to the affected site. This largely depends on the efficiency of the blood flow within the tumour as well as the diffusion characteristic of the medication.
The safety and efficacy of chemotherapy also depend on the specific properties of cancer cells.
Hypoxia or the lack of oxygen in cancer cells is one of the mechanisms that can develop resistance of the tumour cells to chemotherapy drugs. Without oxygen in the tumour or around the tumour, chemotherapy cannot cause the oxidative stress that leads to apoptosis (cell death).
The deprivation of oxygen in unhealthy tissues is also a factor responsible for promoting neoangiogenesis, the process of formation of new blood cells that can feed cancer. It can also trigger further abnormal changes in healthy cells and worsen metastasis of cancer to surrounding tissues.
Primary as well as metastatic tumours can thrive in those areas of the body where the oxygen pressure (pO2) is lower than that in the normal tissues. The average pO2 in the tumour mass is roughly 2 to 10 mm of Hg as opposed to 40 to 45 mm of Hg in healthy cells. In the lower oxygen conditions, the host finds it difficult to mount a reaction aimed at re-establishing the normal physiological level.
Oxygen is also required for the energetic processes and respiration that enable aerobic life within the tissues.
Based on the above it is extremely important to increase oxygen levels prior to any chemo therapy and to promote healthy blood circulation before going into hospital to ensure greater success with your treatment.
It is also important to ensure mitochondria are supported and functioning to the best of their abilities and ensuring antioxidant levels are adequate.
Instead of rushing into treatment it would be far better you prepare well and then go with confidence that you did your best to ensure a positive outcome.
Supplementation to prep your body for chemotherapy is certainly an effective option. However, due to contraindications it is always best to work alongside your medical professionals and health practitioners.
As most of you already know, the three treatments used in cancer clinics to support low dose chemotherapy as well as increasing tumour oxygenation include: Ozone, PEMF & Hyperthermia.
Ozone increases oxygen uptake and delivery; overall blood circulation is increased and the more pliable red blood cells can carry oxygen to all capillaries and into the deprived organs and hypoxic locations.
PEMF increases membrane potential and therefore the improved uptake and utilisation of oxygen into the haemoglobin. The increase in mitochondrial energy production (ATP) will give you a boost that you need in your recovery.
PEMF will not only increase oxygen uptake and perfusion to areas needed but also leads to apoptosis within the tumour cells due to the high magnetic impact onto highly ionised tissue. In a way you have a re-differentiation of sick cells back to healthy cells and destruction of cells which are too sick to be saved.
PEMF does not cause tumour lysis syndrome but simply increases the apoptotic effects of the treatment.
Another powerful tool in the cancer arsenal is the use of fever to open cancer cells to increased blood flow. This is probably my favourite!
Hyperthermia has been found to eliminate the drug-resistant tumour cells. It can increase the blood flow by improving vascular permeability in the tumour and enhancing drug uptake.
The combined use of chemotherapy and hyperthermia may lead to an increased cytotoxic effect with several anti-cancer medications. Remarkable improvement in the clinical outcomes has been demonstrated with different forms of tumours, including those in the head and neck, bladder, cervix, breast, brain, rectum, lung, liver, prostate, melanoma, oesophagus, and sarcoma when hyperthermia was combined with chemotherapy.
This therapy not only effective at addressing cancer head on but also boosting the immune system and eradicating pathogens/chronic infections.
Toxins are a big factor that can make or break your success with a treatment.
First there is the well-known toxic load that comes from the chemotherapy drug itself.
Secondly, there are toxins that accumulate in cancer cells. Research has shown that cancer cells store up to 40000 times higher amounts of toxins than healthy cells. Cancer cells often partner up with toxins and pathogens such as heavy metals, mould, bacteria and viruses.
When treatment is not considerate of this toxic burden you may have far worse side effects and overburden your system, preventing a recovery.
This is a really important factor to consider when undertaking chemotherapy as a treatment.
Polymorphism in the detoxifying genes can contribute to the differences in the ability of patients to detoxify drugs.
Also, proper functioning of the detoxification mechanisms in the liver is also important for the prevention of cancer and its relapse.
The body’s healthy tissues need to be detoxified after chemotherapy as some of these drugs may acts as carcinogens in their own ways.
Pharmacogenomic studies have been conducted for elucidating the genetic bases for the differences in the patient’s responses to chemotherapy drugs. This genetic information can be used for predicting the safety and efficacy of chemotherapy medications.
This can also offer individualized cancer treatments based on the genetic factors of the person including the inherited variability of the drug target, drug responses, drug toxicities, drug-metabolizing enzymes, and drug transporters.
You can consult a practitioner who can assess your body’s specific ability to deal with the effects of chemotherapy drugs based on your general health, cancer diagnosis and pharmacogenomic results.
Factors that can contribute to the altered drug metabolism and can cause toxicity include:
These supplements can produce natural antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-carcinogenic activities thereby supporting your system and reducing the side effects of chemotherapy.
The answer to whether chemotherapy would be good for you or not is maybe, this greatly depends on your age, the specific type of tumour, medical background, biochemistry, and your personal preferences and beliefs.
This is ultimately the beauty of functional medicine; we can’t operate with yes or no answers but rather with the individual. I know, patients often want to know a definitive course of action but sometimes that requires taking a little extra time and care to ensure you have the best possible outcome.
NOTE: Please remember this article is for educational purposes only. Consult your health professional prior to supplementation or treatments, specifically when undergoing chemotherapy.
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20 Responses
Maybe if the holistic treatment is not working
Hello, this Liliana thank you for your great post about Chemotherapy. I love it! you said you would love to hear people opinion about chemotherapy.
After I studied for 3 years and see the result of many people with cancer that they have been treated with chemotherapy. I believe that Chemotherapy doesn’t work. If people recover after Chemotherapy is because the self healing property of the body o because they are blessed or really lucky.
Profesionales people are afraid to said something too negative about conventional treatments because they don’t want to get into conflicts, or they don’t want to risk their license, it is good I don’t have a doctor’s license so I can freely said. The true is that most of the doctors know that less that 3% success in chemotherapy and horrible consecuencias of that treatments shouldn’t be allow, and it is a crime agains humanity.
I had Brest cancer and 12 more illnesses like pre diabetes, anemia, high blood, pressure, arthritis etc, etc ( after a few weeks that I quit convencional doctors I started getting healed of all that illnesses, now I am healthier than ever / doctors were making me sicker)
Also doctors said “ you will die in one year if you don’t do surgery, Chemo, and radiation” I didn’t do any of that, I did lot of Ozone, (Ozone it is one of the best treatments ever. I recommend Ozone to all the people that want to heal, thank you so much to Truly Heal I learn so much of you about Ozono and healing, I used the Truly Heal Ozono machine too, life saving )
Also I changed diet closer to Gerson therapy, coffee enemas, Supplements, and more ( I never die, still alive after 3 years, very strong, and healthy , I can run a marathon!
Chemotherapy doesn’t work but cause secondary cancer, metastasis, depression, liver damage, bone damage and lot more damage to the body.
Hello Liliana, thank you for sharing your thoughts and your experiences! First of all, I would like to say that is wonderful to hear that your vibrant, strong and healthy. I was prompted to write this article as I’ve heard practitioners turn away patients who don’t do chemotherapy and vice versa practitioners turn away patients when they do chemotherapy. Not to mention, clients doing the same when deciding on a practitioner.
I think the biggest takeaway is that everyone can make their own decisions for what they believe is best for them. If you decide to go ahead without chemotherapy, great. If you decide to go ahead with chemotherapy, great. You can be supported with both options, as long as that decision was made by YOU.
I’m a firm believer that everything is individual, we have seen success with low dose chemotherapy with proper pre/post preparation and care. However, we have also seen how chemotherapy was ultimately not effective and the side effects were far too great. This is why I wanted to share how many factors play a role (such as detoxification capacity, type of cancer, overall resilience etc.) in deciding to proceed with a therapy such as chemo.
You are right, often once the cancer diagnosis has been made. A patient is manipulated via fear to undergo therapies prior to processing or researching what is best. I guess, a reason why we are so passionate about education! Each patient deserves to make a decision based on a competent understanding of themselves, their health and disease.
Wonderful to hear that you are implementing ozone therapy, supplementation, coffee enemas in your cancer journey.
Hi Deborah
This is a painful question for me from experience. My mom and close family have opted for chemo in the past and because we didn’t understand it nor the options available to help counter short and long term negatives, every single one ended poorly.
Every single one ended up with more cancers and in my mom’s case every chemo round seemed to correlate to a new cancer within a few years. So after two rounds she was diagnosed with two cancers later. Three rounds three cancers. Sadly the doctors gave up and so did she and she finished in a hospice.
This is one of my passionate drivers for becoming a health coach as I am so tired of watching people die who I believe I could help if I only had the knowledge I know is out there.
Be well!
Hello Mark, I’m sorry for the loss of your loved ones. I can imagine that’s been very hard on you and your family. It is however beautiful to see that through such hardship and pain, you’ve not only found your passion but the determination to protect and support your loved ones.
My husband and I faced this difficult decision in 2019 when he was diagnosed with non Hodgkin lymphoma B stage3. Lymphoma is fast spreading. Our decision was based on how quickly it was spreading, how harsh the recommended chemo would be and how healthy he would be after. We consulted several “alternative doctors “ (hate that term!) as well as traditional.
Final decision was a combination
Six chemo infusions over six months 24/ 10 hyperbaric ozone treatments along with lymphatic ozone stimulation, ozone laser, vitamin c IV, peroxide IV. All performed by trained professionals.
At home we purchased a Promolife generator, sauna bag and Therasage sauna.
We consume ozone water daily and utilize ozone in various of ways. RI, VI, SI, sauna etc.
We would have loved going without the chemo. Unfortunately we felt it would have further drained our finances and with what we have in place (including improved nutritional plan) we feel confident in our maintenance program.
His final chemo was 12-31-2019 each visit to oncologist has shown to be “cancer free”
Husband is extremely healthy, but you and I know why.
And no we did not disclose our O3 use as you know where that will get you.
I’ll gladly talk about his journey further if you have any questions.
O3 should widely available at an affordable cost. Hopefully going forward we’ll see a turn around in health care not illness care.
Congratulations and well done. Yes it is possible to mitigate many of the side effects but it requires action and determination. Ozone plays definitely a very big part in this process.
Hello Judi, thank you for sharing you and your husbands journey. As I said below, I think the biggest takeaway is that everyone can make their own decisions for what they believe is best for them. It sounds like the decision and treatment regime was just what he needed. Each and every single one of us is individual, this is the beauty of understanding and taking a functional medicine approach!
Chemotherapy can be effective for some (specifically with blood cancers) and with appropriate preparation and care the side effects can be lessened and the damage reduced. It’s excellent that you’ve used ozone throughout and loved the results. Ozone therapy is an incredibly powerful tool, one I wish more people knew about when it comes to chronic disease. I think you can be proud of your journey thus far! Always love hearing from our wonderful community.
No to chemo and big pharma and use soursop which is much more effective or other natural cures with detox.
I will never get cancer because I eat correctly now and my frequency is too high.
Royal Rife cured cancer in the 1930’s using frequencies and others using natural roots etc before that.
(God gave us everything we need to survive this evil place we live in today)
Never say never. As you say we all live in a toxic environment and no one plans to get cancer. I have found the biggest proponents of natural medicine go for chemo when all their roots and herbs and natural anti cancer therapies did not work. Promoting Rife as a cure is also very misleading as no lasting results have ever been achieved by killing cancer with frequency. Reason is because the cause has not been removed. Just killing cancer cells will never do the trick. No matter what you use.
I had a course of Doxytaxyl (sp) last year. It was brutal because my dysbiosis was so bad before I started. Drs have no understanding of how bad chronic dysbiosis is. I had 137 x normal Strep Salivarius, 69 x normal Clodtridium Perfringens and 9 x normal Vancomycin resistant Enterococcus Faecalis…yet Mona Vale Hospital sent me away 3 times saying nothing was wrong….and flagged me as an opiate addict so I then could not even get suitable pain relief. With dysbiosis you already have toxins, amines and possibly even faecal matter leaking into your portal blood flow and because the capilliary action of the valveless portal system is completely corrupted we end up with hypertension due to head pressure in the lower abdomen. That causes the toxins, amines etc to move co-laterally into our Systemic, Azygos and Gonadal systems…causing body wide damage. Imagine doing chemo from that pre-chemo state. 😱
The chemo seemed to be quiet effective….but after 5 treatments at 3 weeks apart I refused to have any more. I was well prepared just to die instead.
So in my opinion nobody should try to do Doxytaxyl chemo for prostate cancer without first determining how bad their dysbiosis is (and they have fysbiosis because that IS the cause of Pca) or how leaky their gut is….and nobody should bother using the new DNA style stool tests because they are a waste of time. Far to many false negative results. The old culturing style testing is far better imho.
My Onco has my on Zytiga now. Expensive for Medicare but far easier to handle. I find out on Monday if its helping stop my Lucrin resistant Pca.
Will try to explain more clearly how dysbiosis cause Pca this weekend.
Hello Ian, I appreciate you sharing your unfortunate experience. You are absolutely right. It’s always important to look at your overall health, constitution, system health etc. to evaluate how well you will tolerate a therapy or supplement. In regards to chemotherapy, this is an intense oxidative treatment which can cause a lot of damage to the body if not prepared to deal with this and supported appropriately. Specifically the gut microbiome is severely impacted, as well as the liver and detoxification pathways…
Causes of prostate cancer can include: high toxicity (specifically heavy metal toxicity), infections, leaky gut, nutritional deficiencies (zinc deficiency and high copper), chronic inflammation, insulin resistence, high stress, unhealthy diet, sedentary lifestyle, & poor sleep…
If the body is already dealing with nutritional deficiencies, a leaky gut, chronic inflammation and high toxicity… adding chemotherapy without adequate support and pre/post care can of course result in some unfortunate outcomes. So, thank you for pointing this out. It is important to assess your overall health (such as dysbiosis) prior to undergoing a treatment such as chemotherapy.
You sound like your on the right path, always learning and adapting to best address YOUR individual needs.
Hello
I have had an eye cancer about 11 years ago and had to have my eye removed. Luckily the cancer did not spread and I did not need chemo or any other treatments. I am apposed to chemo simply because it does not get to the cause and it frequently causes more cancer or other problems later on. I am 67 and will be 68 later in the year. Now I do have other health problems mainly related to heavy metals and chemicals and endocrine issues. I believe these are mostly environmental causes and some genetic SNPs that make it difficult for me to detox etc. It is very difficult to stay healthy in this day and age unless your have very good genetics, mine are poor. I know that chemo would make me very sick as I am very sensitive to any toxin and even ozone caused problems for me. I do take antioxidants and try to eat as healthy as possible without goin too strict. We still need to enjoy life and have the occasional coffee and meal out with friends. Being too strict can cause more stress than it solves. Just my 2 cents worth.
Hello Jan, thanks for sharing. I am with you all the way. Opting for chemo is only possible if you are prepared to do everything possible to mitigate the side effects and if your DNA snps are poor then thats a definite contra indication.
If you respond badly to ozone then it can well be that you have possibly candida overgrowth or any other infection that may cause the discomfort. In that case I would do lighter concentrations and smaller amounts and slowly build up your resilience. Often when bacteria die off they cause bloating and a herx reaction. Just keep going and do it with 1l or 1/2 l per min and do just 60ml insufflations with a syringe. Over time the reactions reduce and you build up more antioxidants naturally. There are so many benefits in using Ozone that it would be very helpful especially if you do not havve any other therapies.
I had a tutor who spent several years in oncology, he walked out the day before he was due to take up a consultant position. He said “I could no longer do it” His thoughts and observations over the years:
“There is two things that will kill a cancer patient quicker than cancer;
The first is the treatment,
The second is the fear,
But not necessarily in that order.”
So in answer to your question, No I would not have it,, I know that to be a fact as I have already said no!
Hello Ray, appreciate you sharing this! In some cases, I wholeheartedly agree with those statements (yet not always). As you can see from the other comments here, we have a very mixed group of opinions and I think that’s fantastic!!! That’s what this whole article was all about. We are each entitled to our opinions, thoughts and ultimately our decisions, and I think that’s important. We should all have the luxury to make educated choices about our healthcare. Nothing is ever just black and white, often there is an in-between. Good on you for going with your intuition and gut.
There is no doubt that chemotherapy can be successful in some cases, resulting in complete resolution. Unfortunately, some chemo eg. Oxiplaten will have unfortunate side effects, such as chemo induced neuropathy which can be very difficult to treat. PEMF used in conjunction with chemo does appear to reduce the overall neuropathy. There is some research that suggests electrical stimulation may be helpful, although I have never used this.
Basically there are so many variables, that the individual patient once made aware of the pros and cons
of any particular treatment pathway, must ultimately make their own decision.
Hello Howard, beautifully said. Any patient or client, should be given the right to choose what they believe is best. However, without an education or understanding often decisions are made blindly or based on the opinion of an authoritative figure. There are always many variables and these should be taken into account. One of the many reasons I love functional medicine! I am blown away with everyone’s wonderful contributions to this post.
Hello Deborah,
I am so glad to have found this site and your article I believe it is an answer to prayer for my sister. My sister has taken six rounds of chemo, it’s not working she was sent home, her body is devastated, she’s lost so much weight and it really hurts to see her like this. I am however glad to receive this information on ozone therapy I have been given hope. We weren’t told of how to prepare the body before having chemotherapy, to increase the efficacy I certainly wished we had known about this before.
I’ve shared this info with my sister and she’s so very interested in learning more and getting the ozone and the other treatments.
This was a very interesting
Thank you for sharing
Hi Deborah, Thank you for your effective article on Chemotherapy. I share with others re the negatives of chemo. It is a personal choice, and one I had to make. I protested, declined, in a state of fear and mistrust, but then felt I had no choice when local mets appeared. Empowered faith, finished chemo, now I am onto Radiation. I did and do everything I could to support my body, and I did not get neuropathy. I am taking 75% of the supplements on your list, plus others not on your list also. I have no access to Pemf, Ozone or hyperthermia. I would like to share your article with others, including the oncologist and nurses, but I am disappointed there are no references for your information.